Thursday, 26 June 2014

Quite a common butterfly on Isle of Wight downland is the Dark Green Fritillary.It is also found in our woodlands too.One of the areas I like to visit in order to see this handsome butterfly is West High Down situated between the Needles and Tennyson Down.Perhaps its favourite nectar flower is the Giant Thistle and one can almost be guaranteed a sighting of the butterfly amidst a drift of these plants I was not disappointed today as despite a stiff wind and mainly cloudy conditions I managed to see four,all feeding at one time or another on the thistle.

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

This National Trust copse at Newtown village boasts a good selection of flora and fauna and I took an extended wander through it today.

White Admiral numbers continue to grow with the Silver-washed Fritillary numbering just three at the moment with two males and a female.Ringlets are very numerous,as are Meadow Browns but Marbled Whites are scarce at present.A few more Small Skippers are out now together with a couple of Commas.With the weather continuing settled,in the main,butterfly numbers and species are set to increase.

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

After seeing a first of the season Small Skipper last week,today while walking along the cliff top at Whale Chine I came across another male in the long grass close to the cliff edge.This stretch of coastline has an allocated strip of land several metres in depth from the edge of the cliff which is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Details of which are;
On the south west coast of the Island, cliff top arable fields border parts of the Compton Chine
to Steephill Cove SSSI. In these locations a buffer zone has been established by Natural England
between the arable field and the cliff top. Management of this has been undertaken through a

These agreements are now mostly about 10 years old and are currently being re-negotiated
through the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS) as Higher Level Stewardship (HLS)

agreements.

Management of the buffer under WES agreements required:-

• No cultivation within 20m of cliff or chine edge
• No application of fertilisers, herbicide or pesticide within 20m of cliff or chine edge
• Scrub management
• Control of ‘weed’ species is required by WES/HLS – to include ragwort, thistle, dock and

nettle. This appears to be achieved through annual topping in late summer.

Friday, 20 June 2014

We are enjoying a settled period of hot, early summer weather and butterflies are certainly responding to the conditions by emerging a little head of time than one would expect.In Walters Copse today I saw my first Small Skipper of the year and the first Marbled Whites are now flying with the ever increasing numbers of Meadow Browns and Ringlets.With the White Admirals now in the copse they have been joined by Silver-washed Fritillaries and with their strong flight they seem to rush from one nectar source to the other.Of the several types of orchid now to be seen in our woods and copse is the beautiful Bee Orchid as discovered today in Walters Copse.

Thursday, 19 June 2014

I do not think that I have wandered along the revetment at Wheelers Bay since first seeing the Glanvilles at the end of April.So on a hot,sunny morning I made a point of visiting to see what butterflies were to be seen.As the Glanvilles have been on the wing here for over six weeks I was not surprised to come across several well worn butterflies,although one or two were in excellent condition.Apart from the numerous Common Blues,I also saw Small Blue,Painted Lady,and Marbled White.Still very much worth a trip as one can never tell what other continental species will arrive.

Tuesday, 17 June 2014

A quick visit to Walters Copse today in the hope of seeing some new species for this year.It was a very sunny late morning with a light breeze.I soon came upon numerous Meadow Brown butterflies together with some Speckled Wood.However a butterfly flitting around the tree tops at about thirty feet up took my eye and it was my first White Admiral of the season.Eventually with that very elegant flight,it made its way down to feed on the ample crop of bramble flowers that are dotted along the ride edges.This individual was quickly joined by another and despite a few encounters with the resident Speckled Woods they remained on the bramble for a time.

A little later I had two further White Admiral sightings in the copse plus a well traveled Painted Lady.

Friday, 13 June 2014

Hearing that a Silver-washed Fritillary had been spotted in Bouldnor Forest,Yarmouth yesterday I was hopeful for a sight of one when I arrived at the forest this afternoon.It may well have been the hottest day of the year so far and it was not long before I counted several Meadow Browns busily nectaring on the ample crop of bramble flowers.Despite sometime spent searching I did not manage to find a Silver-washed.However I was lucky enough to see one Ringlet,the first of season.

Tuesday, 3 June 2014

To the north of the village of Niton are the hamlets of Southford and Roud and between them flows the River Yar which at this point is no more than a stream.Here at this time of year I like to see the Banded Demoiselle damselflies along the riverbank and also to keep a lookout for any butterflies too.Today I was pleased to see several butterfly species which included my first sight this season of a Large Skipper

Sunday, 1 June 2014

There are butterflies that can no longer be seen on the Isle of Wight and the Marsh Fritillary is one of them..As a breeding species it disappeared some years ago, so in order to see it now I took a trip to Dorset where it can still be found at several locations

I chose Hod Hill situated north of the town of Blandford Forum,at a site and owned by the National Trust.Here is a vast Iron Age hill fort comprised of ditches where lush vegetation and wooded banks are home to numerous species of butterfly.The Marsh Fritillary is resident at Hod Hill so a wander around would hopefully produce a sighting.I soon came across Small Blue ,Dingy & Grizzled Skipper,Common Blue,and Speckled Wood.The weather was not as good as predicted and it could only be described as bright but cloudy.After an hour and a half of searching the first Marsh Fritillary was seen in a sheltered grassy ditch away from the brisk breeze

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Welcome to my blog and thank you for taking the time to view my images of butterflies of the UK and Greece.I have always been interested in nature and its beauty,and more so since I acquired my first digital camera in 2010. All my photographs have been taken with a Nikon DSLR. a Sigma 105mm macro lens and very occasionally using a Nikon 70-300m lens.Many of them have been at locations on the Isle of Wight. The photographs of butterflies in Greece are a result of family holidays to the Greek Islands and the species I came across near to our accommodation.

UKBMS

Butterfly Conservation Europe

The Adonis Blue

The Adonis Blue is the rarest of the UKs downland butterflies.
It is found on the Isle of Wight and in Southern England.Here on the Island we have south facing downland with short,plant-rich turf which suits the Adonis.
There are two broods a year,from mid-May to the end of June and again from early-August to late September.
The striking sky blue of the male is in contrast to the female which is a basic brown colour,although she has silvery-blue scales near the body and on the hind wings.

The Duke of Burgundy Fritillary

Sadly,this species as well as several others have now been lost to the Isle of Wight

The Large Tortoiseshell

It seems the general view on the status of the Large Tortoiseshell in Britain is that it is now extinct as a breeding butterfly.It is a butterfly of woodland edges and hedgerows that abound in willows,elms,and poplars.These trees are used by the adult to lay its eggs and this single brood appears in July and August.The butterfly then hibernates over the winter in log piles and hollow trees until the next spring.On the Isle of Wight sightings are more often than not made from early March to April.Have these butterflies overwintered on the Island or have they come from the continent where it is common?Any sightings made in July/August pose the same question.Another explanation could be that captive-bred releases are responsible.Only the discovery of eggs and caterpillars will probably answer these questions.

The Glanville Fritillary

This elegant butterfly is mainly confined to the crumbling undercliffs and chalk downs of the Isle of Wight.It is also found on the Channel Islands and at one or two isolated colonies on the British mainland.In Britain the Glanville Fritillary is at the extreme north-western edge of its range.On the continent it is readily found in flowery habitats.Around the southern shores of the Isle of Wight the cliffs constantly erode causing them to slip away and provide perfect conditions for new growths of the butterflies laval host plant,Ribwort Plantain.The eggs are laid to the underside of the leaves of this plant and normally hatch after about three weeks.The resulting caterpillars live together in communal webs spun over the plantain.In the autumn they hibernate and recommence feeding in the spring,eventually dispersing to prepare for pupation.The adult butterfly is on the wing from May to the end of June with the female being larger than the male.They will feed on,amongst other things, Birds-foot Trefoil and Thrift.

Glanville pupa attached to rock

The Wall Brown

On the Isle of Wight in particular,the Wall Brown is a butterfly of field edges,coastal cliffs and dunes,and rabbit-grazed downland.
The male is territorial and spends much of the time patrolling and basking on the ground.
The female,which lacks the males conspicuous dark sex brand across the forewings,is larger.The undersides of both sexes are beautifully cryptic when at rest.
The Wall Brown generally produces two broods a year,the first from late April until late June and the second from mid-July to mid-September.